page_title: Protestantism in Mexico
section_title: Growth and social interaction
hierarchical_section_title: Protestantism in Mexico / Growth and social interaction
caption_attribution_description: Español: Culto en el Centro de Fe Emanuel de las Asambleas de Dios en Cancún, México. Oraciones con las manos en alto y hablando en lenguas.Español: Worship service in Center of Fait Emanuel of Assemblies of God in Cancun, Mexico. Prayers with the hands up and speaking in tongues.
context_page_description: Protestants and Evangelicals are two of the most numerous religious associations in Mexico after the Roman Catholic majority. In Mexico, there are many denominations from virtually all doctrinal backgrounds, the largest of which are: Presbyterian, Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostals and a group of unaffiliated non-denominational charismatic congregations. In the census, some of these congregations and their followers are grouped as "Neo-Charismatic", others are grouped as "Evangelicals".
  The charismatic movement in Mexico has been growing in the last several decades, particularly in the southern state of Chiapas, where the National Presbyterian Church in Mexico is the strongest denomination. Protestantism also has a large following in the Mexican states that border the U.S. state of Texas.
  In 2010 those who declared themselves Catholics represented 83.9 percent of the population aged 5 and older, evangelical Protestants or 7.6 percent, and other religions 2.5 percent and 4.6 percent reported having no religion.
  The National Institute of Statistics and Geography reported that the number of evangelicals or Protestants rose from 4.9% in 1990 to 5.2% in 2000, reaching 7.6% in 2010.
context_section_description: Protestants/Evangelicals have had a respectful and often peaceful relationship with their overwhelmingly Catholic atmosphere. Conflict is however common in indigenous communities in the State of Mexico and the southern state of Chiapas (the state with the greatest percentage of Protestants nationwide). Despite their long-time status of minority, Mexican Protestants interact normally with the rest of Mexico.
  Because of historical reasons (the laic character of Mexico which, in theory, does not intend to favor any religion) and unlike many other countries, Mexican Protestants do not have many institutions such as day care centers, schools, universities, labor unions, political parties and hospitals. This forces Evangelicals to interact with the rest of society using the same services and attending the same educational institutions.
  With the exception of Bible-based moral standards, Mexican Protestants are not alienated from the dominant culture around them and are used to be well acquainted with non-Protestant people. They often enjoy popular soccer games, TV shows and usually celebrate holidays as everyone else.
  Regardless of regional variations, Protestants, often known simply as "Christians" in Mexico are becoming more relevant to the Catholic majority as many of these churches continue to grow greatly because many born-again Christians were once Catholics and converted later in life to this form of Christianity. Subsequently, they tend to share their new spiritual experiences with their Catholic relatives and neighbors, inciting curiosity because their life-changing testimony often ushers a new stage in their lives (frequently asceticism) which changes their worldview and their personal behavior. Christians often invite people to their churches, which sometimes leads to further spiritual encounter and revivals. This is when more people become born-again Christians.
caption: A Pentecostal church service in Cancun
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